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Ninoy Aquino Day, Youth Day (Morocco) SummerSlam (2016), Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 Usain Bolt, Robert Lewandowski, Hayden Panettiere, Sana Khan, Alizée |
August 21 is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 132 days remaining until the end of the year. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Tuesday, Friday or Sunday (58 in 400 years each) than on Wednesday or Thursday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Monday or Saturday (56).
1140 – Song dynasty general Yue Fei defeats an army led by Jin dynasty general Wuzhu at the Battle of Yancheng during the Jin–Song Wars.
1192 – Minamoto no Yoritomo becomes Seii Tai Shōgun and the de facto ruler of Japan. (Traditional Japanese date: July 12, 1192)
1331 – King Stefan Uroš III, after months of anarchy, surrenders to his son and rival Stefan Dušan, who succeeds as King of Serbia.
1415 – Henry the Navigator leads Portuguese forces to victory over the Marinids at the Battle of Ceuta.
1680 – Pueblo Indians capture Santa Fe from the Spanish during the Pueblo Revolt.
1689 – The Battle of Dunkeld in Scotland.
1770 – James Cook formally claims eastern Australia for Great Britain, naming it New South Wales.
1772 – King Gustav III completes his coup d'état by adopting a new Constitution, ending half a century of parliamentary rule in Sweden and installing himself as an enlightened despot.
1778 – American Revolutionary War: British forces begin besieging the French outpost at Pondichéry.
1808 – Battle of Vimeiro: British and Portuguese forces led by General Arthur Wellesley defeat French force under Major-General Jean-Andoche Junot near the village of Vimeiro, Portugal, the first Anglo-Portuguese victory of the Peninsular War.
1810 – Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, Marshal of France, is elected Crown Prince of Sweden by the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates.
1821 – Jarvis Island is discovered by the crew of the ship, Eliza Frances.
1831 – Nat Turner leads black slaves and free blacks in a rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia, which will claim the lives of 55 to 65 whites.
1852 – Tlingit Indians destroy Fort Selkirk, Yukon Territory.
1863 – Lawrence, Kansas is destroyed by pro-Confederate guerrillas known as Quantrill's Raiders.
1883 – An F5 tornado strikes Rochester, Minnesota, leading to the creation of the Mayo Clinic.
1888 – The first successful adding machine in the United States is patented by William Seward Burroughs.
1897 – Oldsmobile, a brand of American automobiles, is founded.
1901 – The International Secretariat of National Trade Union Centres is founded in Copenhagen.
1911 – The Mona Lisa is stolen by a Louvre employee.
1914 – World War I: The Battle of Charleroi, a successful German attack across the River Sambre which pre-empted a French offensive in the same area.
1918 – World War I: The Second Battle of the Somme begins.
1942 – World War II: The flag of Nazi Germany is installed atop the Mount Elbrus, the highest peak of the Caucasus mountain range.
1942 – World War II: The Guadalcanal Campaign: American forces defeat an attack by Imperial Japanese Army soldiers in the Battle of the Tenaru.
1944 – Dumbarton Oaks Conference, prelude to the United Nations, begins.
1944 – World War II: Canadian and Polish units capture the strategically important town of Falaise, Calvados, France.
1945 – Physicist Harry Daghlian is fatally irradiated in a criticality accident during an experiment with the Demon core at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
1957 – The Soviet Union successfully conducts a long-range test flight of the R-7 Semyorka, the first intercontinental ballistic missile.
1959 – United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs an executive order proclaiming Hawaii the 50th state of the union. Hawaii's admission is currently commemorated by Hawaii Admission Day
1961 – Motown releases what would be its first #1 hit, "Please Mr. Postman" by The Marvelettes.
1963 – Xá Lợi Pagoda raids: The Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces loyal to Ngô Đình Nhu, brother of President Ngo Dinh Diem, vandalizes Buddhist pagodas across the country, arresting thousands and leaving an estimated hundreds dead.
1968 – Nicolae Ceaușescu, leader of Communist Romania, publicly condemns the Soviet led Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, encouraging the Romanian population to arm itself against possible Soviet reprisals.
1968 – James Anderson, Jr. posthumously receives the first Medal of Honor to be awarded to an African American U.S. Marine.
1971 – A bomb exploded in the Liberal Party campaign rally in Plaza Miranda, Manila, Philippines with several anti-Marcos political candidates injured.
1982 – Lebanese Civil War: The first troops of a multinational force lands in Beirut to oversee the Palestine Liberation Organization's withdrawal from Lebanon.
1983 – Philippine opposition leader Benigno Aquino, Jr. is assassinated at the Manila International Airport (now renamed Ninoy Aquino International Airport in his honor).
1986 – Carbon dioxide gas erupts from volcanic Lake Nyos in Cameroon, killing up to 1,800 people within a 20-kilometer range.
1988 – The 6.9 Mw Nepal earthquake shakes the Nepal–India border with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), leaving 709–1,450 people killed and thousands injured.
1991 – Latvia declares renewal of its full independence after the occupation of Soviet Union.
1991 – Coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev collapses.
1993 – NASA loses contact with the Mars Observer spacecraft.
2013 – Hundreds of people are reported killed by chemical attacks in the Ghouta region of Syria.
1165 – Philip II of France (d. 1223)
1535 – Shimazu Yoshihiro, Japanese general (d. 1619)
1567 – Francis de Sales, Swiss bishop and saint (d. 1622)
1597 – Roger Twysden, English historian and politician (d. 1672)
1643 – Afonso VI of Portugal (d. 1683)
1660 – Hubert Gautier, French mathematician and engineer (d. 1737)
1665 – Giacomo F. Maraldi, French-Italian astronomer and mathematician (d. 1729)
1670 – James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, French general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire (d. 1734)
1725 – Jean-Baptiste Greuze, French painter and educator (d. 1805)
1754 – William Murdoch, Scottish engineer and inventor, created gas lighting (d. 1839)
1754 – Banastre Tarleton, English general and politician (d. 1833)
1765 – William IV of the United Kingdom (d. 1837)
1789 – Augustin-Louis Cauchy, French mathematician and academic (d. 1857)
1798 – Jules Michelet, French historian and philosopher (d. 1874)
1800 – Hiram Walden, American general and politician (d. 1880)
1801 – Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer, Dutch historian and politician (d. 1876)
1813 – Jean Stas, Belgian chemist and physician (d. 1891)
1816 – Charles Frédéric Gerhardt, French chemist and academic (d. 1856)
1823 – Nathaniel Everett Green, English painter and astronomer (d. 1899)
1826 – Karl Gegenbaur, German anatomist and academic (d. 1903)
1840 – Ferdinand Hamer, Dutch bishop and missionary (d. 1900)
1862 – Emilio Salgari, Italian journalist and author (d. 1911)
1869 – William Henry Ogilvie, Scottish-Australian poet and author (d. 1963)
1872 – Aubrey Beardsley, English author and illustrator (d. 1898)
1878 – Richard Girulatis, German footballer and manager (d. 1963)
1879 – Claude Grahame-White, English pilot and engineer (d. 1959)
1884 – Chandler Egan, American golfer and architect (d. 1936)
1885 – Édouard Fabre, Canadian runner (d. 1939)
1886 – Ruth Manning-Sanders, Welsh-English author and poet (d. 1988)
1887 – James Paul Moody, English sailor (d. 1912)
1891 – Emiliano Mercado del Toro, Puerto Rican-American soldier (d. 2007)
1892 – Charles Vanel, French actor and director (d. 1989)
1894 – Christian Schad, German painter (d. 1982)
1897 – Keith Arbuthnott, 15th Viscount of Arbuthnott, Scottish soldier and peer (d. 1966)
1902 – Angel Karaliychev, Bulgarian author (d. 1972)
1903 – Kostas Giannidis, Greek pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1984)
1904 – Count Basie, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1984)
1905 – Bipin Gupta, Indian actor and producer (d. 1981)
1906 – Friz Freleng, American animator, director, and producer (d. 1995)
1907 – P. Jeevanandham, Indian lawyer and politician (d. 1963)
1909 – Nikolay Bogolyubov, Russian mathematician and physicist (d. 1992)
1912 – Toe Blake, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1995)
1914 – Doug Wright, English cricketer and coach (d. 1998)
1915 – Raquel Rastenni, Danish singer (d. 1998)
1916 – Bill Lee, American actor and singer (d. 1980)
1916 – Consuelo Velázquez, Mexican pianist and songwriter (d. 2005)
1917 – Leonid Hurwicz, Russian economist and mathematician (d.2008)
1918 – Billy Reay, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2004)
1920 – Christopher Robin Milne, English soldier and bookseller (d. 1996)
1921 – Reuven Feuerstein, Romanian-Israeli psychologist and academic (d. 2014)
1922 – Albert Irvin, English soldier and painter (d. 2015)
1923 – Keith Allen, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager (d. 2014)
1923 – Mario Laserna Pinzón, French-Colombian educator and politician (d. 2013)
1924 – Jack Weston, American actor (d. 1996)
1926 – Can Yücel, Turkish poet and translator (d. 1999)
1927 – Thomas S. Monson, American religious leader, 16th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
1928 – Addison Farmer, American bassist (d. 1963)
1928 – Art Farmer, American trumpet player and composer (d. 1999)
1928 – Bud McFadin, American football player (d. 2006)
1929 – Herman Badillo, Puerto Rican-American lawyer and politician (d. 2014)
1929 – X. J. Kennedy, American poet, translator, anthologist, editor
1930 – Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (d. 2002)
1930 – Frank Perry, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1995)
1932 – Menashe Kadishman, Israeli sculptor and painter (d. 2015)
1932 – Melvin Van Peebles, American actor, director, and screenwriter
1933 – Janet Baker, English soprano and educator
1933 – Michael Dacher, German mountaineer (d. 1994)
1933 – Barry Norman, English author and critic
1933 – Erik Paaske, Danish actor and singer (d. 1992)
1934 – Sudhakarrao Naik, Indian lawyer and politician, 13th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (d. 2001)
1934 – Paul Panhuysen, Dutch composer (d. 2015)
1936 – Wilt Chamberlain, American basketball player and coach (d. 1999)
1936 – Radish Tordia, Georgian painter and educator
1937 – Donald Dewar, Scottish lawyer and politician, 1st First Minister of Scotland (d. 2000)
1937 – Gustavo Noboa, Ecuadorian academic and politician, 51st President of Ecuador
1937 – Robert Stone, American novelist and short story writer (d. 2015)
1938 – Kenny Rogers, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
1938 – Mike Weston, English rugby player
1939 – James Burton, American guitarist
1939 – Festus Mogae, Botswana economist and politician, 3rd President of Botswana
1939 – Clarence Williams III, American actor
1940 – Dominick Harrod, English journalist, historian, and author (d. 2013)
1940 – Endre Szemerédi, Hungarian-American mathematician and computer scientist
1943 – Patrick Demarchelier, French-American photographer
1943 – Jonathan Schell, American journalist and author (d. 2014)
1943 – Lucius Shepard, American author and critic (d. 2014)
1943 – Hugh Wilson, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1944 – Perry Christie, Bahamian politician, 3rd Prime Minister of the Bahamas
1944 – Jackie DeShannon, American singer-songwriter
1944 – Peter Weir, Australian director, producer, and screenwriter
1945 – Celia Brayfield, English journalist and author
1945 – Jerry DaVanon, American baseball player
1945 – Willie Lanier, American football player
1945 – Patty McCormack, American actress
1945 – Basil Poledouris, American composer and conductor (d. 2006)
1947 – Carl Giammarese, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1949 – Loretta Devine, American actress and singer
1949 – Daniel Sivan, Israeli scholar and academic
1950 – Patrick Juvet, Swiss singer-songwriter and model
1951 – Eric Goles, Chilean mathematician and computer scientist
1951 – Chesley V. Morton, American businessman and politician
1952 – Keith Hart, Canadian firefighter, wrestler, and trainer
1952 – Glenn Hughes, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
1952 – Jiří Paroubek, Czech soldier and politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
1952 – Bernadette Porter, English nun and educator
1952 – Joe Strummer, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2002)
1953 – Ivan Stang, American author, publisher, and director
1954 – Archie Griffin, American football player
1956 – Kim Cattrall, English-born Canadian actress
1956 – Jon Tester, American farmer and politician
1957 – Frank Pastore, American baseball player and radio host (d. 2012)
1959 – Anne Hobbs, English tennis player and coach
1959 – Jim McMahon, American football player and coach
1961 – Gerardo Barbero, Argentinian chess player and coach (d. 2001)
1961 – V. B. Chandrasekhar, Indian cricketer and coach
1961 – Stephen Hillenburg, American marine biologist, cartoonist, and animator
1962 – John Korfas, Greek-American basketball player and coach
1963 – Nigel Pearson, English footballer and manager
1965 – Jim Bullinger, American baseball player
1966 – John Wetteland, American baseball player and coach
1967 – Charb, French journalist and cartoonist (d. 2015)
1967 – Darren Bewick, Australian footballer
1967 – Carrie-Anne Moss, Canadian actress
1967 – Serj Tankian, Lebanese-American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
1968 – Goran Ćurko, Serbian footballer
1968 – Laura Trevelyan, English journalist and author
1969 – Bruce Anstey, New Zealand motorcycle racer
1969 – Josée Chouinard, Canadian figure skater
1970 – Craig Counsell, American baseball player and coach
1970 – Erik Dekker, Dutch cyclist and manager
1970 – Simone Eriksrud, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1971 – Mamadou Diallo, Senegalese footballer
1971 – Robert Harvey, Australian footballer and coach
1971 – Liam Howlett, English keyboard player, DJ, and producer
1973 – Sergey Brin, Russian-American computer scientist and businessman, co-founded Google
1973 – Steve McKenna, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1974 – Martin Andanar, Filipino journalist and radio host
1974 – Paul Mellor, Australian rugby league player and referee
1975 – Simon Katich, Australian cricketer and manager
1976 – Alex Brooks, American ice hockey player and scout
1976 – Jeff Cunningham, Jamaican-American soccer player
1976 – Robert Miles, Australian rugby league player
1976 – Ramón Vázquez, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
1978 – Peter Buxton, English rugby player and manager
1978 – Reuben Droughns, American football player and coach
1978 – Lee Gronkiewicz, American baseball player and coach
1978 – Alan Lee, Irish footballer and coach
1978 – Jason Marquis, American baseball player
1980 – Burney Lamar, American race car driver
1980 – Paul Menard, American race car driver
1980 – Jasmin Wöhr, German tennis player
1981 – Jarrod Lyle, Australian golfer
1981 – Cameron Winklevoss, American rower and businessman, co-founded ConnectU
1981 – Tyler Winklevoss, American rower and businessman, co-founded ConnectU
1982 – Jason Eaton, New Zealand rugby player
1982 – Omar Sachedina, Canadian television journalist, correspondent, and news anchor
1983 – Scott McDonald, Australian footballer
1984 – Neil Dexter, South African cricketer
1984 – Melvin Upton, Jr., American baseball player
1985 – Nicolás Almagro, Spanish tennis player
1985 – Aleksandra Kiryashova, Russian pole vaulter
1986 – Usain Bolt, Jamaican sprinter
1986 – Wout Brama, Dutch footballer
1986 – Koki Sakamoto, Japanese gymnast
1988 – Robert Lewandowski, Polish footballer
1988 – Kacey Musgraves, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1988 – Louise Setara, English singer-songwriter
1989 – Charlison Benschop, Dutch footballer
1989 – James Davey, English rugby player
1989 – Matteo Gentili, Italian footballer
1989 – Hayden Panettiere, American actress
1991 – Leandro Bacuna, Dutch footballer
672 – Emperor Kōbun of Japan (b. 648)
1131 – King Baldwin II of Jerusalem
1148 – William II, Count of Nevers (b. c. 1089)
1157 – Alfonso VII of León and Castile (b. 1105)
1245 – Alexander of Hales, English theologian
1271 – Alphonse, Count of Poitiers (b. 1220)
1614 – Elizabeth Báthory, Hungarian countess and serial killer (b. 1560)
1622 – Juan de Tassis, 2nd Count of Villamediana, Spanish poet and politician (b. 1582)
1627 – Jacques Mauduit, French composer and academic (b. 1557)
1673 – Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford, English soldier (b. 1599)
1689 – William Cleland, Scottish poet and soldier (b. 1661)
1762 – Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, English author, poet, and playwright (b. 1689)
1763 – Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1710)
1775 – Zahir al-Umar, Arabian ruler (b. 1690)
1796 – John McKinly, American physician and politician, 1st Governor of Delaware (b. 1721)
1814 – Benjamin Thompson, American-English physicist and colonel (b. 1753)
1835 – John MacCulloch, Scottish geologist and academic (b. 1773)
1836 – Claude-Louis Navier, French physicist and engineer (b. 1785)
1838 – Adelbert von Chamisso, German botanist and poet (b. 1781)
1853 – Charles Tristan, marquis de Montholon, French general (b. 1783)
1854 – Thomas Clayton, American lawyer and politician (b. 1777)
1870 – Ma Xinyi, Chinese general and politician, Viceroy of Liangjiang (b. 1821)
1905 – Alexander von Oettingen, Estonian theologian and statistician (b. 1827)
1910 – Bertalan Székely, Hungarian painter and academic (b. 1835)
1919 – Laurence Doherty, English tennis player (b. 1875)
1935 – John Hartley, English tennis player (b. 1849)
1940 – Hermann Obrecht, Swiss lawyer and politician (b. 1882)
1940 – Ernest Thayer, American poet and author (b. 1863)
1940 – Leon Trotsky, Russian theorist and politician, founded the Red Army (b. 1879)
1943 – Henrik Pontoppidan, Danish journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1857)
1947 – Ettore Bugatti, Italian-French engineer and businessman, founded Bugatti (b. 1881)
1951 – Constant Lambert, English composer and conductor (b. 1905)
1957 – Mait Metsanurk, Estonian author and playwright (b. 1879)
1957 – Nels Stewart, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1902)
1957 – Harald Sverdrup, Norwegian meteorologist and oceanographer (b. 1888)
1960 – David B. Steinman, American engineer, designed the Mackinac Bridge (b. 1886)
1964 – Palmiro Togliatti, Italian journalist and politician, Italian Minister of Justice (b. 1893)
1971 – George Jackson, American activist and author, co-founded the Black Guerrilla Family (b. 1941)
1974 – Buford Pusser, American police officer (b. 1937)
1978 – Charles Eames, American architect, co-designed the Eames House (b. 1907)
1979 – Giuseppe Meazza, Italian footballer and manager (b. 1910)
1983 – Benigno Aquino, Jr., Filipino journalist and politician (b. 1932)
1988 – Teodoro de Villa Diaz, Filipino guitarist and songwriter (b. 1963)
1988 – Ray Eames, American architect, co-designed the Eames House (b. 1912)
1989 – Raul Seixas, Brazilian singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1945)
1993 – Tatiana Troyanos, American soprano and actress (b. 1938)
1995 – Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Indian-American astrophysicist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
1995 – Chuck Stevenson, American racing driver (b. 1919)
2000 – Tomata du Plenty, American singer-songwriter and playwright (b. 1948)
2000 – Daniel Lisulo, Zambian politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Zambia (b. 1930)
2000 – Andrzej Zawada, Polish mountaineer and author (b. 1928)
2001 – Calum MacKay, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1927)
2003 – John Coplans, British artist (b. 1920)
2003 – Kathy Wilkes, English philosopher and academic (b. 1946)
2004 – Sachidananda Routray, Indian Oriya-language poet (b. 1916)
2005 – Martin Dillon, American tenor and educator (b. 1957)
2005 – Robert Moog, American businessman, founded Moog Music (b. 1934)
2005 – Dahlia Ravikovitch, Israeli poet and translator (b. 1936)
2005 – Marcus Schmuck, Austrian mountaineer (b. 1925)
2006 – Paul Fentener van Vlissingen, Dutch businessman and philanthropist (b. 1941)
2006 – S. Yizhar, Israeli author and politician (b. 1916)
2007 – Siobhan Dowd, British author (b. 1960)
2007 – Elizabeth P. Hoisington, American general (b. 1918)
2008 – Jerry Finn, American engineer and producer (b. 1969)
2009 – Rex Shelley, Singaporean engineer and author (b. 1930)
2010 – Rodolfo Enrique Fogwill, Argentinean sociologist and author (b. 1941)
2012 – Georg Leber, German soldier and politician, Federal Minister of Defence for Germany (b. 1920)
2012 – J. Frank Raley Jr., American soldier and politician (b. 1926)
2012 – Don Raleigh, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1926)
2012 – Guy Spitaels, Belgian academic and politician, 7th Minister-President of the Walloon Region (b. 1931)
2012 – William Thurston, American mathematician and academic (b. 1946)
2013 – Jean Berkey, American lawyer and politician (b. 1938)
2013 – Sid Bernstein, American record producer (b. 1918)
2013 – C. Gordon Fullerton, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1936)
2013 – Fred Martin, Scottish footballer (b. 1929)
2013 – Enos Nkala, Zimbabwean politician, Zimbabwean Minister of Defence (b. 1932)
2013 – Lew Wood, American journalist (b. 1929)
2014 – Gerry Anderson, Irish radio and television host (b. 1944)
2014 – Helen Bamber, English psychotherapist and academic (b. 1925)
2014 – Steven R. Nagel, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1946)
2014 – Jean Redpath, Scottish singer-songwriter (b. 1937)
2014 – Albert Reynolds, Irish businessman and politician, 9th Taoiseach of Ireland (b. 1932)
2015 – Colin Beyer, New Zealand lawyer and businessman (b. 1938)
2015 – Wang Dongxing, Chinese commander and politician (b. 1916)
2015 – Jimmy Evert, American tennis player and coach (b. 1924)
2015 – Bob Hepple, South African-English scholar and academic (b. 1934)
Holidays and observances
Christian Feast Day:
Abraham of Smolensk (Eastern Orthodox Church)
Euprepius of Verona
Maximilian of Antioch
Our Lady of Knock
Pope Pius X
Sidonius Apollinaris
August 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Ninoy Aquino Day (Philippines)
Youth Day/King Mohammed VI's Birthday (Morocco)
August 21 Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA
